Improvement in sewing-machines



l. M. SINGER.)

Sewing Machine.

No. 10975. l Patented May 3o, 1854..'

UNITED STATES I'sAAe-M. SINGER, o F NEWYORK, n.31.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINES'.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. lhgdafed May 30, 185.4.

To all whom it may concer-n.-

Be it vknown that l, ISAAC-M. SINGER, of N ew York city, New York, have`invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing- Machines; and Ido hereby declare. that the following is `a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,making Apart of .this specification, in which- -V y Figures 1 is a frontelevation of my improved machine; Fig. 2, a side elevation.

The same letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

The ist part of my invention relates to the method of feeding the clothor other material to be sewedwith a view to render this part of theoperation practically efficient, cheap', and not liable to derangement,While at the same time it can be readily adjusted; to regulate'thelength of stitches. The cloth, Etc., isV

held by a pressure-pad onto the periphery of the .feeding-wheel, which:is roughened or formed 4with minute teeth to bite sufficiently to movethe cloth. The nature of this vpart of my invention consists in givingan intermittent feeding motion to the said wheel by means of a cord ofcatgut or its equivalent fitted to lgroove in the periphery of the saidwheel, one endof the said cord being attached toa spring connected withthe arm of a rock-shaft, with a set-screw'interposed to regulate thelength of stitches, and the other end of. the

'sad'cord attached to a reaction spring at# tached to the frame or'to apermanent bracket, and resting thereon at a given and positive tensionafter drawing back the cord, so that when the cord is pulled by the4 armof the rock-shaft to give the feed motion the said cord shall bedrawn`toa tension equal to that of the reaetingspring when resting on thebracket before the said reaction spring willyield to ,permit the feed-motion.` When this method 'of imparting the feed motion is combinedwith fa friction-brake in or on the said wheel,which 'jmakes a frictionin one direction to resistthe feedmotion equal to the tension o'rf thereactionspring when at rest that the time of starting thewheel shall bepositive, and a greater .friction or resistance in the reverse directionto prevent the wheel from being turned back by thetension of the cord.

1".. The secondpart of my invention relates to 'the method of regulatingthe tension on the needle-thread, The methods heretofore practiced areto make tension on the body of the spool. or bobbin, or by passing thethread under a spring-clip or between spring forceps or fingers. Theformer of these methods is 'objectionable in practica-for the reasonthat as the thread is-reduced on the body of the bobbin or" spool theleverage is gradually reduced, while' the leverage of the frictionlbrakeremains the same, and hence the tension on the thread. will constantlyvary as the diameter of the bulk of thread 'on the spool is diminished;and, besides, the spools or bobbins are generally made in a veryimperfect manner, and when a friction-brake is applied to them theseimperfections induce an irregular tension on the thread, and the othermethod is objectionable for the reason that any irregularity in thediameter ofthe thread will induce a variation The object of my inventionis toavoidthese defects and produce a method of making .ten-

practically uniform notwithstanding the varywhich shall admit -ofaccurate and easy adjustpart of my inventionl consists in providing `awire with guides and witha turning wing, and passing the vthread on itsway from the spool, bobbin, or reel to the needle around the said wing,so that by turning the said wing on the Wire the thread v,shall be wound:around the body of the wire more or less, and thus increase 4ordecrease the friction of the said thread in proportion to the number ofturns which it makes around 'the body of the wire, andas the thread doesnot pass between any .two'surfaces it will be obvious that thefricvaried by the varying sizeof the thread. v

. The lastpart of my invention relates to the lubrication of theneedle-thread.- during like 'operation of sewing leather. Great dficultyhas been experienced in sewing leather, and particularly what is termedpatent-leather, 2 by machinery. The friction of the needle and `threadwhen passing through the leather is very great, and if the inachine beoperated at or near the same speed as in sewing cloth, the

needle and thread become highly heated, and

in the tension, for the spring clip orforcepsY must produce a greaterresistance tot the motion of the thread when thick than when thin. Y

sion on the thread, which, when set, shall be.

ing size of the thread or of the bobbin, and

ment; and to these ends the'nat u re of this tion which produces thetension win not be in sewing ,patent-leather the enamel abrades theneedle, and in a very short time roughens 'it to such an extent as toseriously impede the ,shallnot only be itself lubricated, but also keeplthe needle lubricated, and when drawn into the leather and locked withthe shuttlethread in the form of a seam when the oil dries it shall forma cement to bind the threads together in the seam, and thoroughly closeup the holes to exclude moisture.

The machine in its general structure, as represented in the accompanyingdrawings, is similar to the machine described in Letters Patent grantedto me and bearing date the 12th day of August, 1851, and the 13th ofApril, 1852, andA therefore it will not` be neeessary to give adescriptionl of the general structure and operation, except so far as itmay be necessary to a clear understanding of my present improvements.

The clothl or other material to be sewed is held down onto the peripheryof the feedingwheel a by means of a' pad, b', on the lower 'end of asliding rod, "c, which is forced down by the tension of la coiledspring, d. The feedf ing-wheel a turns freely ori a stud-pin, e. 4On itsouter peri'pheryfit'is formed 'with a groove,

f, near one edge, to' receive a cord, g, made of catgut or otherequivalent substance. One end of this cord is attached to the lower .end

'of a spring, h, secured at its upper end to an arm, i, of aroek-shaft',j', provided with another arm, k, actuated by acam, l, on the shaft m togive a vibrato'ry motion to the armv i and springl attachedfthereto,.The spring Vh is provided with .a setfscrew,n, which bears against thearm i, by thel turning of which the operator canset the springrelatively to the arm toincrease or shorten the feed motion to beimparted tothe wheel a. The other end of thel cordg'isjlseeured to theouter end of a reaction L* spring, o, l which is secured to a bracket,'p', so thatl the end of it to which the cord 'is attached shall restenthe bracket with asufficient tension to resist the motion of the arm tuntil theord is drawn sufficiently tight to insure the turning of thewheel before it.-` 'AIhe-.reaction spring yields to permit thefeedmotion;I and from this it will be seen that on the return motion of thearm the reactionI of this spring ywill draw back the cord preparatory toanother operation.

To the inner periphery of the wheel a is fit- -ted a'friction-brake,q,made o f wood, notched at r to fit loosely on a bracket-piece, s, witha spring, t, interposed, and between the upper surface of this brake andthe hub of the wheel there isan S-formed spring, u, interposed, one.'end of which bears on the surface ofthe brake at o, near to theconnection of the brake withA the bracket, and the other end at w, nearto greater distance from the point of SuppOlfi 0f the said brake on thebrake. lhe effect of this arrangement is' to cause this brake to make.greater resistance to the motion of the .wheel in the direction of thefeed indicated by the cause the brake to present a resistance to thefeeding motion of the wheel about equal to on the bracket, so that thewheel shall not be turned while the cord is drawn tight, and not untilthe reaction spring begins to move, and as the brake makes a greaterresistance inthe reversed direction it follows that the wheel will bemoved in one direction, when set, with a regular motion, although not sopositive as to endanger the parts of the mechanism in case of accidents,while at the same time 1t will be prevented from being turned back by-boX or reservoir, c', supplied with linseed-oil or its equivalent,mixed with litharge or other drier, where it is saturated with oil, andthence it passes through cloth d in a guide to wipey ofi' tlie surplusoil'. This guide is on 011e end of a smooth wire, e', attached totheframe at to the needle,'andon' th-iswire is placed a turning wing, h',which isheld thereto by a spring, i', so-as to permit it to be turned,and yet hold it with sufficient firmness in any desiredposition. )Thethread, in passing frdm' the greater will be the friction of the thread,and vice versa, so thatl the tension on the thread can be regulated withthe utmost accuracy without reference to the varying size of the thread.As thespool, vbobbin, or reel tension. n l

1 do not wish tolimit myself tothe precise construction and arrangementof the brake, or to the manner of connecting 4the cord which imparts thefeed vmotion with the ar-In of the rock-shaft, nor to the special mannerof con. structing the turning wing to regulate the tension of thethread, as these may be varied within the range of my invention by thesubstitution of equivalent-sl,

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1; The method of imparting; the feed motion to the feed-wheel by meansof the cord the' other end'of the said brake, at a much.

in the direction the reverse of the arrow than v arrow, and the ltensionmust be such as to..

the tension of the reaction spring' when at rest v the return motion ofthe cord. The needle. thread a', from a loose spool, bobbin, or reel, lpasses through an eye, b', in the bottom of a.

and provided with another eye o rguide,l g', through which thekthreadpasses on its way vone eye or guideto the other, passes by`thiS--turning wing, and'hence by turning ,wing` on thewire the thread will bewoundarou'nd the wire on each side of the wing in opposite,.. vldirections,.and "the moreit is wound around".

from which the threadl is drawn turns freely on its bearings, it willnot materially affect the connected at oneend with the adjustable arm ofthe rocklshaft and the other withk the reaction' spring, substantiallyas specified, when this is combined with the friction-brakes, operatingsubstantially as specified, and for the purpose set forth. i Y

2. Governing and regulating-the-tension of the needle-thread by means ofthe w'irewith 'its eyes or guides, substantialIy as specified, injeombination with the turning wing, by which the coilingor winding ofthethread-around die-thread, on its way to the needle, to pass 4throughlinseed-oil or its. equivalent, mixed.-

WithaJ drier, substantially as and for the purposespecied.

ISAAC M. SNGER. Witnesses:

' WM. H. BISHOP,

CHAS. N. BAMBURGH.

